OFAC lists Iranian crypto exchanges, linked individuals and warns of secondary sanctions risk

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday added four Iran-based digital asset exchanges and four linked individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, and issued a new Iran-related FAQ warning that foreign firms and banks could face sanctions for certain dealings with those exchanges.

The newly designated exchanges are Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. OFAC listed Nobitex under both its counterterrorism and Iran authorities, while Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex were designated under Executive Order 13902, which targets sectors of Iran’s economy including the financial sector.

OFAC also designated four Iran-linked individuals: Seyed Mohammad Aghamir, Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir, Seyed Ali Khoee and Amir Hossein Rad. The first three were listed as linked to Nobitex under the Specially Designated Global Terrorist program, while Rad was designated under both the counterterrorism and Iran-EO13902 authorities.

In FAQ 1257, OFAC said non-U.S. persons, including foreign financial institutions, are exposed to sanctions risk if they engage in certain transactions with Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin or Ramzinex. The agency said it can designate parties that materially assist those exchanges and can prohibit or impose strict conditions on correspondent or payable-through accounts for foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for them.

OFAC also said foreign financial institutions may face mandatory statutory sanctions for significant financial transactions with the four exchanges because they are designated Iranian financial institutions.

The action signals a sharper U.S. focus on Iran’s digital asset sector and extends the compliance risk beyond U.S. persons to non-U.S. exchanges, service providers and banks that continue to transact with the newly designated entities. That final point is an inference based on the scope of the designations and OFAC’s FAQ warning.